By Andy Walter

DOVER — The TV cameras love to show the thrill of victory of March college basketball.

But for half the teams involved, the moment is something entirely different.

Delaware State men’s basketball coach Stan Waterman can tell you how crushing it is to be part of the squad that loses in a conference championship game.

His Hornets lost their only chance to make the NCAA Tournament when they fell to Howard, just 70-67, in the MEAC finals on Saturday.

“It’s instantaneous,” said Waterman. “It smacks you. You’re walking off the floor, confetti is dropping, and they’re raising the trophy and dancing and cheering.

“Just a few feet away, you’ve got to console guys and scrape them up off the floor because they’re devestated and disappointed. It’s tough.”

The good news for Delaware State is that scene won’t be the final one from its season.

The Hornets got a second chance to write a better ending to their season when they accepted a bid to play in the College Basketball Insider Tournament.

DSU (15-18) will face Seattle (19-14) next Saturday in the first round of the tourney being played in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Waterman broke the news to his players on the busride home from Norfolk, Va. on Sunday.

Some teams can be burned out by this time of the season. But Waterman feels like his players are still excited to play some more basketball.

“When the season ends, that’s one of the hardest feelings for those kids to deal with,” he said. “They’ve got a chance to do it (play together) again. I just feel really good about that.

“These guys, I feel like they like each other. Our chemistry is really good. They bonded well and they were really excited about another opportunity to play.”

That’s not to say that the MEAC tourney wasn’t a grueling experience for the Hornets.

Delaware State played three higher-seeded teams — beating two of them — in a span of three days.

DSU's (left to right) Martaz Robinson, coach Stan Waterman and Deywilk Tavarez answer questions at the MEAC Tournament. Delaware State University …

On Friday night, the Hornets left The Scope Arena at about 11:30 p.m. after knocking off No. 2 North Carolina Central in the semifinals. They then had to be back at the arena by 11 a.m. on Satursday for the title game.

“There’s hardly any time to get off your feet and get a good night’s rest let alone prepare for your biggest game of the season,” said Waterman.

“But, after that game, I thought about how far we’ve come — how far we’ve come even this season, from where we were to being in the championship game. ... We were a few minutes away from being in the NCAA Tournament.”

This is a DSU program that went a combined 17-91 in the four seasons before this one.

If nothing else, playing in a post-season tournament — any post-season tournament — gives Waterman a chance to change the narrative around the Hornets.

This will be just the fifth time that DelState has played in a post-season event and the first time since 2015 — the last time it reached the MEAC finals.

“To me, the excitement and the program growing and building, all of that was right on the front porch this weekend,” said Waterman. “I was really just happy and excited about that.”

Free throws

DSU’s Martaz Robinson and Jevin Muniz were both named to the All-MEAC Tournament team. ... Monday was the first day that the NCAA Transfer Portal was open. Wes Peterson a reserve forward for Delaware, entered his name in the portal.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa.org. Follow on X at @DSNsports.